Rotarians at Work, the phrase written on the back of tee shirts of dedicated Rotarians who get their hands dirty to help create something wonderful for their communities. The Martin Bailey Memorial Garden Project is one of those creations. Located on the campus of Houston’s Margaret Long Wisdom High School, the Garden Project is a community collaboration between the school’s Rotary Interact Club, Rotary E-Club of Houston and Vox Culture, a local advocacy group connecting Houston’s community to social causes in creative ways.
 
An unveiling ceremony was held on Saturday, September 7 at the Garden with an assistant from Texas State Representative District 137, Gene Wu, who presented a certificate of appreciation.  
 
The certificate states:
In honor of the completion of the Martin Bailey Garden Project at Wisdom High School. The Martin Bailey Garden Project aims to contribute to environmental and educational reform by providing students the opportunity to work in an innovative green space. Vox Culture and the Rotary E-Club of Houston is to be commemorated for hosting this event and my office thanks them for their involvement in our community.
 
“Martin was a student of the first graduating class of Wisdom High School and was a passionate Rotarian who cared deeply about his community and Rotary. He would have been proud of this event”, said his wife, Ginger Bailey who spoke at the event attending with Diane Ronald Jolly who was the first women Rotarian in her club the Rotary Club of the Galleria Area thirty years ago.
 
The outdoor Garden consists two areas. The south side contains native plants from south Texas used to attract and provide food for the monarch butterfly, which migrates every year from Mexico to Canada.  The north side contains organic vegetables that students can grow and consume.  The Garden also contains a solar powered condenser drip irrigation system that provides water to the garden from moisture in the air. 
 
The most dramatic feature of the Garden is the wall mural.  Painted by the successful artist Betirri Bengtson, a class of 2000 graduate of Wisdom High School.  The mural depicts flora and fauna motif converging to a soccer field in the center, one of Betirri’s artistic passions.
 
The students also put a lot of time and effort into the project encouraged by Shannon Forssman, teacher and Rotary Interact club advisor from Wisdom High.  There are over 15 native languages spoken at this very diverse school.